Originally called the Horizon Award, the CMA New Artist of the Year Award has signaled the arrival of genre-transcending superstars since its 1981 inception. Past winners of note include The Judds (1984), Garth Brooks (1990), Carrie Underwood (2006), Taylor Swift (2007) and Lainey Wilson (2022). Adding his name to that list was a really big deal for 2023 recipient Jelly Roll— so much so that it inspired a fiery sermon of an acceptance speech.
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Jelly Roll walked out of Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night (Nov. 8) with quite the industry stamp of approval. Unfortunately, he didn't make it off the property with the trophy itself.
ABC's On the Red Carpet revealed on Twitter that Jelly Roll got butterfingers, dropping the first CMA trophy he's yet to receive. The post shows the trophy on the floor and broken into quite a few pieces. The post adds that Jelly Roll will receive a replacement.
Guess who dropped and broke his best new artist #CMAawards? Yes, @JellyRoll615 but don't worry, he will get a replacement. #JellyRoll pic.twitter.com/Mlic2zGws3
— On The Red Carpet (@OnTheRedCarpet) November 9, 2023
Billboard reported that the trophies handed out at the show are generic ones because winners are known by very few in advance. A different one with Jelly Roll's name etched on it would've been in the mail sometime soon anyway. Without the drop, there'd still be a temporary vacant spot in the singer's room of memories.
"I have a room that is the stuff that has become to mean the most to me," Jelly Roll told multiple outlets after the broadcast (as quoted by Taste of Country). "The family of Gary Rossington, the late great guitar player from Lynyrd Skynyrd, gifted me one of his guitars out of his vault. I have it right next to my Craig Morgan handwritten lyric sheet. Which is right next to Eric Church's note he gave me the first time I opened up for him, and it's signed....that's really the memories I'll cherish forever. So this award doesn't just represent a lifetime of hard work, it's a memory I'll forever have sitting there drinking beers with Zach Bryan, kicking it next to Post Malone and my beautiful wife. I'll think of this forever. And I can relive it in 4K any time I want to go on Hulu."
